Life, Laughs, Toddlers and Tea

On Cooking Up a Storm (And Not Burning the House Down)

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m no Master Chef. Till about two years ago my idea of cooking involved whipping up a bowl of Maggi instant noodles and calling it a day. Then I got married. Turns out ‘cooking’ up a batch of Maggi and calling it spaghetti isn’t all that amusing the 17th time around.

Pictured: not dinner

So yes, I decided it was time to learn how to cook and more fully embrace my role as a newly minted housewife.

So in the spirit of learning new things, and on popular demand (well on demand of one person to be exact), here’s my recipe for BBQ chicken burgers which is the easiest (and yummiest) recipe I’ve tried so far. To be fair, it’s not my recipe but my sister’s but I’m sharing it here since it’s really the simplest thing since even a novice like me managed to pull it off without causing widespread food poisoning. So here goes:

Chicken burger patties

Marinade (good for 1lb of minced chicken. 1lb makes about 5 patties):

– 1 tsp whole cumin seeds

– 1tsp coriander powder

– 1 tsp black pepper

– 1 tsp red chilli powder

– 1/2 cup green chillies chopped

– 1/2 tsp meat tenderizer

– pinch of turmeric powder

– salt to taste

Add all the marinade ingredients into the minced chicken and mix well. Let the mixture sit for at least 2-3 hours (the longer the better so leaving it overnight in the fridge works best). When you’re ready to fire up the grill, fashion the minced chicken into patties and grill away! If you’re lazy like me and don’t want to go through the hassle of grilling outdoors, grilling these on the stove works fine as well. Just add enough oil to keep the patty from sticking to the pan and you’re good to go! Be warned: my family loves spicy food so these might be a little spicy for ‘normal’ people. To get the best results, fry a little of the meat for taste testing before setting it aside to marinate.

Bonus tip: if chicken isn’t your thing and you prefer meat, use the same marinade just add 1 chopped onion to the mix. I’ve tried that with mutton and it turned out great.

Also, fireee!

So here’s my first (and probably last) recipe post and here’s to hoping it turns out well for whoever tries it! Do let me know how it turns out.